The use of various types of protective gear for aircraft pilots is well known, particularly for the head and eyes. Helmets and goggles have been used since the first open cockpit aircraft went into production. In the case of military aircraft, both rotary and fixed wing, pilots are required to wear a prescribed helmet, such as the model HGU-33 helmet and which includes one or more attached visors. These visors, which may be of various tints, are attached to the helmets in a manner permitting the raising and lowering thereof between stowed and use positions. The primary function of such visors is to protect the pilot's eyes from glare or sunlight and since military pilots are required to have near perfect uncorrected vision, the visors naturally exhibit no refraction. In the case of civilian pilots, the government's requirements for a pilot's eyesight are far less stringent and accordingly, many civilian pilots possess currently valid medical certificates and pilot licenses although some corrective eyeglasses may be required or, at least would facilitate the pilot's flying of an aircraft. For example, many pilots utilize a kneeboard while flying. Such devices are a common accessory and comprise a planar support member including a resilient clip for retaining flight charts, approach plates or the like and which is strapped or otherwise affixed to the user's thigh. In this manner, critical flight information publications are readily accessible and the pilot has literally at their fingertips, a writing tablet upon which to record radio frequencies, course assignments and other instructions as received from air traffic control.
Many pilots suffer from farsightedness, to a degree that close-up reading of the instrument panel and printed data requires corrective lenses. Typically, the kneeboard on the upper part of a pilot's thigh is less than two feet from their eyes and to view it with bi-focal or tri-focal eyeglasses, the wearer must slightly bow their head. The need exists for means whereby a pilot, without wearing eyeglasses and through use of his visor, may immediately have visual access to their kneeboard and the panel instruments with little or no head movement and with the aid of corrective lenses associated with the visor. With such an arrangement, a pilot requiring corrective optics, can avoid the awkward task of inserting glasses behind a helmet's visor and may even eliminate the need for carrying eyeglasses into the cockpit.